IP Library Granted Patent US 12,088,679
Granted Patent B2
US 12,088,679 · App. 17/950,822 · Granted Sep 10, 2024

Methods and apparatus to correlate a demographic segment with a fixed device

Inventors: Jean-Pierre Abello (Clearwater Beach, FL); Arun Ramaswamy (Tampa, FL); Jan Besehanic (Tampa, FL)
Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
H04L67/535H04L67/02H04L67/52
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,088,679
App. No.
17/950,822
Granted
Sep 10, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to correlate a demographic segment with a fixed device are disclosed. An example method includes accessing a record indicating a public Internet Protocol (IP) address used by a fixed device. A monitoring data record received from a mobile device is accessed. A demographic segment of a user of the mobile device is determined. The mobile device is associated with the fixed device when an IP address of the mobile device from the monitoring data record matches the public IP address used by the fixed device. The demographic segment of the user of the mobile device is associated with the fixed device based on the association of the fixed device and the mobile device.

Claims (55)

1. A method comprising:

receiving, via a network, network data obtained during a Local Area Network (LAN) scan, the network data specifying, for each mobile device of a plurality of mobile devices associated with the LAN at a media exposure location, a hardware address;

determining, based on the hardware address included in the network data, a mobile device identifier for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN;

associating a given demographic segment of a plurality of demographic segments with each mobile device identifier of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN;

identifying, based on the network data, a first set of mobile device identifiers of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN during presentation of particular media by a fixed device associated with the media exposure location during a predetermined time block;

identifying a second set of mobile device identifiers of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN during an expanded time block that includes the predetermined time block, the second set including the first set;

determining, for each demographic segment of the plurality of demographic segments, a respective presence score associated with presentation of the particular media by the fixed device based on a ratio between a first count of mobile device identifiers in the first set associated with the demographic segment and a second count of mobile device identifiers in the second set associated with the demographic segment; and

outputting the respective presence scores to thereby indicate a probability of presence of the corresponding demographic segments at the fixed device during the predetermined time block.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second count of mobile device identifiers in the second set represents a total number of mobile devices associated with the demographic segment and the fixed device.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting, via the network and to the fixed device associated with the media exposure location, an instruction to trigger the fixed device to perform the LAN scan, wherein the network data is received, via the network, from the fixed device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the instruction causes the fixed device to interact with a cloud application programming interface hosted by a server of an audience measurement entity.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fixed device is an Internet of Things (IOT) enabled television.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: for a given mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices both: (i) present on the LAN during the predetermined time block, and (ii) associated with the demographic segment:

receiving, via the network, a first audio sample from the given mobile device;

receiving, via the network, a second audio sample from the fixed device; and

comparing the first audio sample with the second audio sample.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

based on the comparison of the first audio sample with the second audio sample, adjusting the presence score to thereby indicate an adjusted probability of presence of the corresponding demographic segment at the fixed device during the predetermined time block.

8. A computing system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon machine-readable instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause performance of operations comprising:

receiving, via a network, network data obtained during a Local Area Network (LAN) scan, the network data specifying, for each mobile device of a plurality of mobile devices associated with the LAN at a media exposure location, a hardware address;

determining, based on the hardware address included in the network data, a mobile device identifier for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN;

associating a given demographic segment of a plurality of demographic segments with each mobile device identifier of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN;

identifying, based on the network data, a first set of mobile device identifiers of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN during presentation of particular media by a fixed device associated with the media exposure location during a predetermined time block;

identifying a second set of mobile device identifiers of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN during an expanded time block that includes the predetermined time block, the second set including the first set;

determining, for each demographic segment of the plurality of demographic segments, a respective presence score associated with presentation of the particular media by the fixed device based on a ratio between a first count of mobile device identifiers in the first set associated with the demographic segment and a second count of mobile device identifiers in the second set associated with the demographic segment; and

outputting the respective presence scores to thereby indicate a probability of presence of the corresponding demographic segments at the fixed device during the predetermined time block.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the second count of mobile device identifiers in the second set represents a total number of mobile devices associated with the demographic segment and the fixed device.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, via the network and to the fixed device associated with the media exposure location, an instruction to trigger the fixed device to perform the LAN scan, wherein the network data is received, via the network, from the fixed device.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the instruction causes the fixed device to interact with a cloud application programming interface hosted by a server of an audience measurement entity.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the fixed device is an Internet of Things (IOT) enabled television.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise, for a given mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices both: (i) present on the LAN during the predetermined time block, and (ii) associated with the demographic segment:

receiving, via the network, a first audio sample from the given mobile device;

receiving, via the network, a second audio sample from the fixed device; and

comparing the first audio sample with the second audio sample.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:

based on the comparison of the first audio sample with the second audio sample, adjusting the presence score to thereby indicate an adjusted probability of presence of the corresponding demographic segment at the fixed device during the predetermined time block.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon machine-readable instructions that, upon execution by a processor, cause performance of operations comprising:

receiving, via a network, network data obtained during a Local Area Network (LAN) scan, the network data specifying, for each mobile device of a plurality of mobile devices associated with the LAN at a media exposure location, a hardware address;

determining, based on the hardware address included in the network data, a mobile device identifier for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN;

associating a given demographic segment of a plurality of demographic segments with each mobile device identifier of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN;

identifying, based on the network data, a first set of mobile device identifiers of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN during presentation of particular media by a fixed device associated with the media exposure location during a predetermined time block;

identifying a second set of mobile device identifiers of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN during an expanded time block that includes the predetermined time block, the second set including the first set;

determining, for each demographic segment of the plurality of demographic segments, a respective presence score associated with presentation of the particular media by the fixed device based on a ratio between a first count of mobile device identifiers in the first set associated with the demographic segment and a second count of mobile device identifiers in the second set associated with the demographic segment; and

outputting the respective presence scores to thereby indicate a probability of presence of the corresponding demographic segments at the fixed device during the predetermined time block.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the second count of mobile device identifiers in the second set represents a total number of mobile devices associated with the demographic segment and the fixed device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting, via the network and to the fixed device associated with the media exposure location, an instruction to trigger the fixed device to perform the LAN scan, wherein the network data is received, via the network, from the fixed device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the instruction causes the fixed device to interact with a cloud application programming interface hosted by a server of an audience measurement entity.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the fixed device is an Internet of Things (IOT) enabled television.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise, for a given mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices present on the LAN and associated with the demographic segment:

receiving, via the network, a first audio sample from the given mobile device;

receiving, via the network, a second audio sample from the fixed device; and

comparing the first audio sample with the second audio sample.

Assignments (4)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 8, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063574/0632 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Apr 28, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063561/0381 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 31, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063560/0547 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 3, 2022
From: ABELLO, JEAN-PIERRE; RAMASWAMY, ARUN; BESEHANIC, JAN
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
Reel/Frame 062053/0925 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 16713960 · Dec 13, 2019
Continuation 14577870 · Dec 19, 2014
Provisional Application 62066106 · Oct 20, 2014
Related Publication 20230083900A1 · Mar 16, 2023